Pete Carroll blamed his telephone skills for failing to land Peyton Manning two years ago.
“He called me. That was a good start,” the Seahawks coach recalled with a chuckle during his press conference on Friday. “From there, it just went downhill. I didn’t do a very good job on the phone.”
Manning, instead, signed with the Broncos, while Seattle drafted quarterback Russell Wilson out of Wisconsin in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Clearly, it worked out for both sides — Wilson and Manning will meet in Super Bowl XLVIII next Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
“It’s kind of interesting we’re playing against him at this point,” Carroll said. “We wound up with Russell and they wound up with Peyton. So, it’s pretty cool.”
After the Colts parted ways with Manning following his fourth neck surgery, his first visit in March 2012 was to Denver. Looking to build on the interest they believed Manning had in them, Carroll and Seattle general manager John Schneider flew to Englewood, Colo., but when told they wanted to meet with Manning, he declined an invitation.
Carroll said he still would have drafted Wilson if they were able to sign Manning. Only he wouldn’t have waited until the 75th overall pick in the draft to select the 25-year-old star in the making.
“Knowing what we know now, we would’ve taken him a quite bit higher,” Carroll said.
While Manning is preparing for his third Super Bowl — and looking to win his second title — in what has already been a legendary Hall-of-Fame career, this will be Wilson’s first game on the sport’s biggest stage. Carroll said he is confident his young quarterback, wise beyond his years with the talent to match, will handle The Big Game fine.
Why wouldn’t he? Wilson’s playoff numbers in his first two years — he has won three of four games, thrown four touchdown passes and just one interception — are phenomenal.
“I don’t know how anybody could be better prepared to handle it,” Carroll said. “He’s a tremendous kid. I think he’ll be at his best, just how he has been at every opportunity he’s faced. He’ll take care of his business.”